Dungeon Master on my Atari ST

What better way to catalog your retro collection than using a retro computer? Running Calc on my C64c to keep track of my vintage machines. Fits perfectly.

The magnificent Powermonger intro on my Amiga 500. It's a shame you can't hear the sound! Back then, we knew exactly what a great game looked and sounded like. You could feel it in your guts.

Nebulus, aka Tower Toppler, was great on every machine it was adapted to (and that's many). Seen here on my Atari ST.

The MSX had an astonishing library of Konami games. Nemesis, Salamander, Metal Gear, Maze of Galious, Penguin Adventure... each one felt polished as and ambitious. It was almost unfair to the competition, such as HAL, second best provider with games like Hole in One shown here on my Yashica YC-64.

What a nice-looking little train, let me see which car shall I also add... Back in 1991 I spent countless hours Railroad Tycoon. Such a great game by the legendary team at Microprose. Photo shot in my studio (IBM PS/2 Model 30).

Barbarian on my Amstrad CPC 6128. The fight is over and the lizard drags away your opponent. When I was a kid visiting pals from school who had this machine, Barbarian was often the first game we played during our long afternoon sessions...

Who said the Apple II was no good for graphics? Photo shot in my studio

R-Type, Commodore 64C, 1571 disk drive, 1702 display. Photo shot in my studio

In 1991, Another World felt like stepping into a strange animated film. Its innovative rotoscoping technique gave the characters an uncanny fluidity. A few polygons masterfully applied to gorgeous landscapes created a fascinating, realistic, and very dangerous alien universe

Who would argue Dungeon Master was the best game ever made? Looking back, it was a blessing there was no music during the game. It made the sound effects even more powerful: grinding doors, cries of monsters, crackling spells... all magnified by the ominous silence. And even more so in the dark!

I can't think of any 8-bit computer Sorcery was not adapted to (at least officially) except maybe the Apple II and the Atari. If we consider machines still popular in 1985-86, then Sorcery was everywhere. Seen here on my Commodore 64 "breadbin'.

Loading Sorcery from cassette was a test of patience, faith, and the tape recorder's mood. For 15 minutes, every screech sent shivers down your spine, knowing that instead of a fantasy adventure, it could all end with a tape loading error. Common fate of gamers in the 80s. Photo shot in my studio.

Flight Simulator on the Apple II asked you to imagine more than it showed. A few lines were enough as you were navigating by instruments instead of scenery. It proved that realism comes from simulation, not just graphics. Photo shot in my studio.

Listening to the Monkey Island soundtrack on your PC speaker was an exercise in imagination. Yet somehow it still captured the magic. Then you heard the Amiga version and realized the Caribbean had a full band all along 🏴‍☠️

Defender of the Crown on my Amiga 500

Did you play Battle Chess back in the day? Absolutely awesome on all machines, the Amiga version was of course sumptuous. Photo shot in my studio. Do you like my retro photo sessions? You should know that filming old CRT display is not always easy. Here's my take on this youtu.be/fVsATm_NtWE

It took me half a year to design this Computer Timeline with 80 iconic machines along with technical data and production figures. Well back before AI could whip that up while you drink your coffee. Journey through the golden age of home computing: youtu.be/wQPmPdL5t3Y

Civilization kept convinced me that "just one more turn" was a perfectly reasonable way to lose a night's sleep. Few games have made time disappear so completely, and History so addictive. Incidentally, one of the last significant games on the Atari ST. Photo shot in my studio

Ultima VI proved that RPGs could build a living world instead of just a dungeon. Every NPC, every conversation, every moral choice mattered. Even your enemies deserved to be understood. A masterpiece that made adventure feel genuinely human. Photo shot in my studio: IBM PS/1 Model 2133

X-Tree Gold turned DOS into something that finally felt civilized. Copy, move, compare, archive, all from a fast dual-pane interface that made hard drives feel manageable instead of mysterious. Once you mastered its shortcuts, DOS felt almost too easy. Photo shot in my studio: IBM PS/2 Model 30

Arkanoid, C64C, 1571, 1702. Classic among classics. Photo shot in my studio.

Turrican II is definitely one of the crown jewels of the Amiga game library. And its soundtrack by Chris Hulsbeck is the gem that makes it shine. Photo shot in my studio.

MSX cartridges with SCC sound chip delivered music that felt years ahead of its time. Beyond soundtrack, Konami showed just how much brilliance could be squeezed from your MSX computer, with games like Salamander here. Photo shot in my studio. For more on this: youtu.be/9TVIBYVgZwk

There was something effortlessly classy about programming BASIC on a black Toshiba MSX in a dark room. Black computer, black TV, black screen, with only crisp text glowing in the darkness. It felt less like coding and more like a quiet conversation with the machine.

Defender of the Crown was ported to the Amstrad CPC in French but no conversion was made to English language. So it looks like this legendary game set in medieval England was released for almost every computer in English, except for the British CPC... Interesting paradox! Photo shot in my studio.

CheckIt on an IBM PS/1 felt like having a tiny repair shop on a floppy. Memory tests, benchmarks, keyboard checks, endless confidence. In the early 1990s, watching green bars crawl across the screen felt oddly reassuring.

David Crane worked wonders with Ghostbusters on the Apple II: smooth animation and that unforgettable theme, a catchy tune that stuck in your head for days. Photo shot in my studio.

Food going low, torch almost expended, surrounded by traps and monsters roaming about. Genuine panic in the dark. In 1987, before we had a word for “immersive gaming”, Dungeon Master opened a new genre... and then locked us inside. Real-time interactive 1st person environment.

Two tiny dragons, hundreds of screens, catchy music, and that irresistible “just one more level” trap. Bubble Bobble's arcade magic followed us to home computers, every single port I know of was fabulous. For instance here on my C64. Bubbles were serious business after all.